Articles by Ritch Macefield

Ritch Macefield is a Director and HCI consultant at Shannon-Weaver Ltd.

How To Specify the Participant Group Size for Usability Studies: A Practitioner’s Guide

See commentary related to this article. Abstract Using secondary literature, this article helps practitioners to specify the participant group size for a usability study. It is also designed to help practitioners understand and articulate the basis, risks, and implications associated with any specification. It is designed to be accessible to the typical practitioner and covers […] [Read More]

Usability studies and the Hawthorne Effect

Abstract This paper provides a brief review of the Hawthorne effect, a discussion of how this effect relates to usability studies and help for practitioners in defending their studies against criticisms made on the basis of this effect. Practitioner’s Take Away The Hawthorne effect can be (mis)used as a basis on which to criticize the […] [Read More]